Editor’s note: Michael Rosenberg is a global market research business consultant. He can be reached at michael.rosenberg10@comcast.net.
Whether it’s the first time or the hundredth time a marketing research account manager is working with a client, they should be thinking the same thing: What can I do to ensure there is a next project from this person?
Most likely, the revenue generator who has worked with a client numerous times feels more confident about future prospects for success than the person with the first-time client. In reality, their respective confidence levels should have nothing to do with the number of projects that have been awarded. It is quite possible that the seller/doer with the first-time client is about to embark on what will be the first of many, many projects. Likewise, the 20th project that was just awarded could be the last. Why? Because whoever has a better client management system in place will probably win out in the long run and that has nothing to do with the number of projects.
It is essential to have a philosophy that allows you to think about clients beyond the project if you want to establish lasting working relationships – in business and beyond. Built over many years of successes and failures, here are my 10 commandments of client management.
1. A mistake or two along the way is forgiven when you have a relationship with a client.
We’ll start off with a bang and address the most important of the 10 commandments, since all others feed off of it. This is why someone can do 20 projects with a client and continually be on the thinnest of ice and someone else can do only a few projects with a client but be positioned much better for long-term survival.
I’d like to take credit for this commandment but the truth is that it came from an incredibly successful revenue producer – possibly the most successful account person of his day. He passed along his views on the value of a strong client relationship to me many years ago off the top of his head during a boring meeting, when we happened to be sitting next to each other. I thought about his words and watched them in action when his clients happened to be in the office. His clients didn’t behave like clients; rather, they behaved like friends. This flew in the face of everything I heard about conventional client management, where you’re taught to never lose sight of the fact that clients are indeed clients. I’m sure my friend never forgot that these people were his clients but I'll be damned if it didn’t look like they were having fun. He knew their life story and they knew his – and it wasn’t an act.
Qualitative and quantitative projects can comprise hundreds of pieces that don’t always fit perfectly together in this inexact science of marketing research. Proposal writing, study design, survey/discussion guide construction, sampling, operational elements, analysis, presentation and client communication are all potential land mines. In other words, the longer you work with a client, the greater the odds that mistakes will inevitably occur. As a revenue generator, if your relationship with a client is superficial and relegated solely to the specs of the project, you are squarely in harm’s way when a mistake occurs. Why? Because the client immediately thinks about the project and has forgotten about you. However, when you have a strong relationship with a client, it’s akin to an insurance policy. You can only hope the relationship is strong enough that it overrides the mistake.
2. When you open your mouth and speak to a client, if the best you can do is to break even, think hard about what you are going to say.
Whenever we speak, there are three possible outcomes: score points, lose points or break even. When talking with clients, you may have a decent idea when your comment is going to score points. Likewise, you probably know what won’t bring a smile to your client’s face. It’s that huge expanse in the middle that is so open to interpretation. The more thought you give to comments that occupy this space, the better off you’ll be.
The goal is to minimize this neutral territory, moving thoughts to one side or the other. If you now feel your comment will score points, you will feel comfortable mentioning it to a client. If you now realize what you were going to say could lose you points, you may avoid throwing it out there, assuming it isn’t bad news that must be relayed.
3. Stay two or three steps ahead of the client at all times.
Anticipating what may happen before it happens adds a layer of quality to what you’re doing. This is ever-so-important for research projects, which are a mix of both art and science. Staying ahead of the game allows for the art to come into play – adding quality and new ideas. At the end of the day, the client will have greater confidence in you as the caretaker of their project, providing you with greater opportunities for additional projects down the road.
4. As a project director, you are an extension of the revenue generator. But you should always take ownership of the project you are working on.
Project directors are usually second in command and may even be the research supplier’s primary voice but they are not responsible for generating revenue. As such, it would be very easy for project directors to perform according to their secondary role on a project. Project directors need to know that their behavior with clients is every bit as important as the behavior exhibited by revenue generators themselves. As a project director, if you truly believe the outcome of the research engagement rests on your shoulders, the client will have the greatest opportunity to experience a successful research effort. The bottom line is that both the revenue generator and the project director need to own the project.
5. Never wait for a client to do anything!
Let’s say a client has signed off on a project schedule that indicates you will send the first draft of the survey to them on Monday and will get comments back no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday. As Wednesday afternoon approaches with no communication from the client, you can either assume the comments will arrive by 5 p.m. or you can reach out to the client and ask if any clarification is needed. Of course, the real purpose of the communication is to remind the client of the deadline. When almost all project mistakes rest on your shoulders, never wait for a client to do anything.
6. Never rely on verbal conversations with clients for important issues – get it in writing.
This has ramifications far beyond the MR world. How many times have you had conversations about important topics that later became a back-and-forth with major differences of opinion? You’re either insisting you didn’t use the exact words the other person is attributing to you or you're insisting you really meant something different than what the other person interpreted. Things can get very messy when it’s all about the words that came out of your mouth.
If you have to enter into a conversation with a client about an important topic and that conversation serves as the sole transcript, you could be in trouble down the road. Why? Because when it’s your word against the client’s word, you lose even when you’re right. It’s fine to have conversations with clients about important topics but at some point, you will want to summarize those critical discussions in an e-mail so that there’s a written record. When there’s friction involving a client, an e-mail shedding light on the details still may not get you out of the doghouse but it does provide clarity – and maybe even a leg to stand on.
7. At times, making your ideas the client’s ideas helps cement a partnership.
This may be the most controversial of the commandments and probably the most difficult to achieve. At first, it seems to fly in the face of conventional wisdom concerning the management of clients. After all, your responsibility as a revenue generator is to occasionally suggest innovative ideas as you build trust with a client and become viewed as a valuable resource. While that may be true, it is human nature to want to be seen as more than simply a yes-man. A partnership works best when there’s give and take between a revenue generator and client. Sometimes, having both parties own an idea is preferred.
There were many occasions when I suggested an idea and then, depending on the reaction of the client, used the client’s input to enhance the idea. Maybe the client suggested something that I had already thought of and was going to include in this new idea anyway. Or maybe they suggested something I hadn’t thought of that could be extremely beneficial. Either way, having the client feel like a real contributor to the success of the project can only improve your relationship.
8. Know when (not) to call or e-mail a client.
Of course, there are active forms of communication (e.g., face-to-face discussions and live phone calls) but there are also passive forms of communication (e.g., e-mails and voicemails). Understanding appropriate usage is the difference between a harmless communication and a disaster.
Let’s say you were awarded a global study from a client involving 10 countries. The schedule indicates data collection should be finished by Friday in all countries but two countries are lagging behind. You have determined that a new approach is needed to get the remaining completed interviews, which will add one week to the schedule, unless you can make up time in other phases of the project. Sending an e-mail to the client or leaving a voicemail message about the bad news is asking for trouble. However, sending an e-mail or leaving a voicemail message asking the client to call you about a matter that needs to be discussed is perfectly fine. Typically, anything that is negative – or even neutral – should only be addressed during a live conversation. Generally speaking, if you’re unsure whether e-mail or voicemail is appropriate, don’t use it.
9. Strive for face time with the client.
Sometimes, when you take a situation to the extreme, the solution becomes crystal clear. If you never actually saw your client in the flesh, are the odds great that you would develop a relationship strong enough to overcome mistakes? Of course, the answer is absolutely not. While regular face time with a client can be difficult due to distance, strive for face time whenever possible.
It all comes down to not giving into laziness. It is so easy to pick up the phone or send an e-mail. But you have to fight through the knee-jerk reaction to call or e-mail when you know that seeing the person is you best move. The most successful revenue generators typically have the greatest face time with their clients.
10. Do what is best for the project. If it is also best for you, that’s great. If it isn’t, put yourself second and do what is best for the study.
This is a mouthful but crucial to successful client management. A marketing research project can easily take on a life of its own. A study that appeared to be smooth and simple with a straightforward timeline can go awry very quickly. At the end of the day, it’s not about you, it’s about the project. It’s harsh but if the project is cramping your lifestyle, so be it. It’s only temporary.
The correct path
While following these 10 commandments is not a guarantee of success, they put you on the correct path. These are many little things that, when put together, can mean the difference between having solid client relationships versus simply having clients.